Telegraph-key.



No. 685,3ol. Patented oct. 29, |901. c. SHIRLEY e. .1. F. skmuw.

TELEGRAPH KEY. (Appucasion mea Aug. s, 1901.)

(No Model.)

1N ENToRs l BY ATToRNEYs ANTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SHIRLEY, OE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AND JOHN E. SKIRROw, OE EASTORANGE, NEw JERSEY.`

TELEGRAPH-KEY.

srEotEroAmoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,301, dated-october29, 1901. Applicant and August e, 1961. stiamo. 71,'05'5. (Nomtan.)

To all whom, it may concern: l l I Be it known that we, CHARLES SHIRLEY,a sub'lect of the King of Great Britain, residing in t e borough ofBrooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, and JOHN F.SKIRROW, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Orange,county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Telegraph- Keys, of which the following is aspecifica-v tion, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- 4Figure 1 is a perspective-view of the key; Fig. 2,a vertical sectional view ofthe same; Fig. 3, a side elevation, and Fig.4 a front elevation, of a slightly-different form of the key from thatshown in Fig.4 1. I

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in tele,ffraphlreys; and it has for one of its objectsto provide a key which isrotatable upon its support to adapt it to be operated by the right handor by the left hand with equal facility and to enable the operator toplace it in any desired position.

Another objectof the invention is to so construct the key that it may beoperated by holding the operating-handle in the palm of the hand or bypressing on the handle with the palmor any other part of the hand orwith the wrist or by grasping the handle in the fingers and the signalsent with an arm movement instead of grasping it with the fingers andmaking the signals entirely by Wrist motion, as is necessary in theproper use of an ordinary signaling-key.4

Referring to the various parts by numerals, 1 designates a hollowvertical case or support, which is formed at its lower end with therearward-extending foot 2, through which'the thumb-screw 3 passes torotatably secure the case to the table. The case at its top is formedwith the two bearings et and 5, which are separated a Short distancefrom each other and are arranged one at the front and one at means ofset-screws 9, threaded through the collar and bearing on the shaft.Secured to this collar is a, depending contact-carrying gle-lever 12,which is pivoted on a horizontal pin 13. This pin is rigidly secured tothe front Ot' the case fand extends rearward through the removable back14, its outer rear end being threaded to receive the nut 15, whichsecures the removable back in place. Threaded through the left-hand sideof the case is a tension-adjusting Screw 16, whose inner end bears onthe other arm of the anglelever 12 and by means of which the tension ofthe spring 16a on the contact-carrying bar may be inoreasedordiminished, as desired. Secu red on the left-hand side of the.contactcarrying bar is a slight flat spring 17, whose lower end tendsto spring away from the bar 10, its movement away from the bar beinglimited bythe adjusting-screw 18. On this spring, near the lower endthereof, is mounted a contact-point or circuit-terminal 19, and threadedthrough a bushingl of insulation fitted in the left-hand side of thecaseis a screw 20, whose inner end forms the other contact orcircuit-terminal, against which the l contact 19 strikes during theoperation of transmitting signals.

It will be noted that by loosening the screws 9 the shaft may be rotatedindependently of Ythe collar S, so that, if desired, the operatinghandlemay be fixed to the shaft and the shaft rotated to put the handle in thedesired position, and the collar is secured in position by the screws 9.It will thus be seen that the arm and the shaft are rotatably adjustablewith respect to each other.

Within the casing, on the right-hand side thereof, directly opposite andin line with the contact-screw 20, is a stop 30, against which the lowerend of the contact-carrying bar is drawn bythe tension-spring 16a.Within the casing, at the lower end thereof, is secured a block 3l, ofinsulating material, which carries a spring contact-plate 32, to whichis con- IOO nected one wire of the circuit, the other wire of thecircuit being connected to the case 1 by means of a screw 31, whichpasses through the block of insulating material and into the case. Thecontact-plate is connected by an insulating-wire 32n to thecontact-screw 20, and a cut-out lever 33 is pivoted on the horizontalpin 13, its lower end being adapted to engage the contact-plate 32, andthereby put said plate in electrical connection with the case 1 to cutout of circuit the contact-screw 20. The upper end of this lever isprovided with a thumb-piece 34,which projects through a slot in thefront of the case in convenient position for manipulation. An opening ismade in the front of the case to enable the operator to see that thecontact-points are properly adjusted and are in good working condition.

On the forward end of the rock-shaft 7 is the operating-handle 25. Thishandle may be secured to the shaft in any suitable manner; but it ispreferred to secure it thereto by means which will permit of itsadjustment to any radial position around said shaft. As shown in Fig. 1,the handle is connected, by means of a ball-and-socket joint, to a shortbar 26, which is pivoted at its rear end to the forward end of therock-shaft, and clampingscrews 27 are provided at the inner end of thehandle and at the forward end of the rockshaft, whereby the handle maybe placed in any desired position and then securely clamped therein. Itwill be seen that by means of the bar 26 the handle may be raised orlowered and that by means of lthe balland-socket joint between thehandle and the bar 27 the handle may be adjusted to any radial positionaround the shaft, and in addition it may be placed at any desired anglewith respect to the rock-shaft. Instead of securing the handle to therockshaft by means of a ball-and-socket joint the shaft may be threadedat its outer end and provided with a collar near the outer end of thesleeve 6, and the handle may be provided with a sleeve 28, which fitsover the outer end of the shaft, its inner end bearing against thecollar on the shaft and being clamped thereon by means of a thumb-nut29, which is threaded on the outer end of the rock-shaft. By this meansthe operating-handle is adjustable to any position around the shaft, butis always perpendicular thereto.

The handle is secured to the rock-shaft by means of friction grips orclamps in both of the forms of devices described. The object of this isthat the position of the handle may be changed without unscrewing orotherwise loosening the fastening means, it being simply necessary toexert a sufficient pressure on the handle to move it in the desireddirection and to the desired position. This is very advantageous, aswhen the operator once places the clamping means at the proper tensionto hold the key to the shaft when sending signals it will not benecessary to alter that tension or to operate the clamping means when itis desired to change the position of the handle. It also enables theoperator to shift the position of the handle instantly whenever it isdesired. It is of course obvious that the pressure on the handle duringthe act of sending signals is very light and that therefore the grip ofthe clamping means will not be necessarily very great.

As shown in Fig. l, the key is operated by grasping the handle in theright hand and swinging it downward slightly, thereby rocking the shaft7 and causing the contact car ried by thearm 10 to strike the endof thecontact-screw 20. It will be noted that the handle is universallyadjustable about the rock-shaft in order that the operator may place itin any desired position and may readily change its position in orderthat certain muscles may be rested while others are brought into play.It will also be noted that the adjustable contact and thetension-adjusting screw are on the left side of the case in properposition to be readily manipulated by the left hand without interferingwith the sending of signals by the right hand.

To adaptthe instrument to the use of lefthanded operators, it isrotatably mounted on the table or support by means of the screw 3 andmay be swung half-way around to bring the adjusting-screws 20 and 16 inposition to be manipulated by the right hand and the operating-handle inposition to be grasped by the left hand. In this position the handle isalso swung downward slightly in sending signals, as will be readilyunderstood from Fig. 2, in which view the key is shown in position to beused by a left-handed operator. In this position, however, the casing isbetween the handle and the operator and the lhandle is in a position notquite so convenient or capable of such a variety of adjustments as whenit is in front of the casing, as it is in Fig. 1. In order, therefore,that the key may be adapted for both right and left handed operators andthe handle be in front of the case in both forms,a rearward-extendin ghorizontal sleeve 35 is formed 'on the rear bearing 4 of the case, saidsleeve being axially in line with the sleeve 6, and the rock shaft isextended through both sleeves. On the projecting ends of the shaft arerigidly secured collars 36, the extreme ends of the shaft being threadedfor lthe reception of the clamp-nut 29. In this form the handle isprovided with the sleeve 28 at its inner end, which sleeve is arrangedat right angles thereto and is adapted to slide over the ends of theshaft and bear at its in- IOO IIO

ner end against one of the collars 36 and be clamped in place and heldagainst rotation on the shaft by the thumb-nut 29. When it is desired toreverse the key, the thumb-nut and handle are removed from the forwardend of the rock-shaft, the easing given a halfrotation to bring theother end of the shaft forward, and the handle and nut then placed onthis forward end of the shaft.

osaeoi The advantages of a key that may be reversed and readily adaptedfor use with either the right or the left hand are very great and willbe readily appreciated by telegraph-op erators. It is well known that inusing the ordinary signaling-key the wrist-muscles soon become verytired and frequently inflamed and often paralyzed by the constant strainon them. Many operators have a number`of keys on their tables set invarious positions, some placed for the use of the right hand and othersfor the left in order that they 4may change positions and use eitherhand. It is necessary, however, in order to send clear signals with anordinary key that the button on the end thereof be firmly grasped by thethumb and iirst two ngers and that themetion be entirely a wrist motion.It will be seen that when an operator is working steadily from eight toten hours a day there is a tremendous strain on these muscles of thewrists, and all manner of expedients are resorted to to relieve them. Inthe present invention the key is operated by an arm movement, theoperating-handle being grasped in the hand and swung bodily in thedirection necessary to bring the contacts together, and the handle beinguniversally adjustable around the shaft and the entire instrument beingreversible it will be readily seen that the key may be so used that agreat variety of muscles will be brought into action. If desired, theoperator can place the handle in such a position that he may operate thekey in the ordinary manner, using the thumb and lingers to grasp thehandle and moving it with a wrist motion. By placing the handle in ahorizontal position and rotating the support until the end of the handlepoints toward the operator and is in position to be grasped by the thumband fingers it will be readily seen that the key can be operated in Ypractically the same manner as is the ordi'- nary key.

It will'be readily understood that a handle may be secured on each endof the shaft in the form of device shown in Fig. 4, so that it will besimply necessary to reverse the position of the instrument in order toconvert it from a right-hand key to a left-hand key, or vice versa.

Any suitable rotatable support vmay be employed instead of the caseshown, and the rock-shaft or movable bar may be vertical or inclined, iffound desirable.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a telegraph-key the combination, of a support, a rock-shaftmounted thereon, an arm mounted on the rock-shaft and adapted to makeand break the circuit, an outwardextending handle carried by therock-shaft, the handle and the arm being adjustable with respect to eachother around the rock-shaft, and a tension device to move the arm andthe handle in one direction.

2. In a telegraph-key the'combination, of an inclosing case, ahorizontal rock-shaft mounted in said case, an arm on said rockshaft andextending outward therefrom, its outer end being within the case andadapted to make and break the circuit, an operatinghandle adjustablysecured to the rock-shaft outside of the case, and a tension device tomove the arm and the handle in one direction.

3. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a support, a rock-shaftmounted thereon, an outward-extending arm having one terminal of acircuit connected thereto, means for securing said arm to the rock-shaftto permit the shaft and the arm to be rotatably adjusted with respect toeach other, means for supporting the other terminal of the circuit inposition to be engaged bythe terminal on the arm and an operating-handlecarried by the rock-shaft.

4. In a telegraph-key, the combination of aV rotatable support, ahorizontal rockshaft mounted in the upper end of said support, an armcarried by said rock-shaft and carrying one terminal of a circuit, meansfor supporting the other terminal in position to be engaged by theterminal carried bythe arm of the rock-shaft, and an operating-handlese-v 6. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a support, a rock-shaftmounted thereon and carrying one terminal of a circuit, means forsupporting the other terminal in position to IOO IIC

be engaged by the terminal carried by the 'A rock-shaft, an operating-handle, and frictional gripping means for securing the handle to therock-shaft whereby it may be adjusted to various positions around saidshaft Without loosening the securing means and radially extendtherefrom.

7. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a support, a rock-shaftmounted thereonpand carrying one terminal of a circuit, means forsupporting the other terminal in. position to be engaged by the terminalcarried by the rock-shaft, an operating-handle, and frictional grippingmeans for connecting the handle to the rock-shaft whereby it isuniversally adjustable about said shaft.

8. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a rotatable support, arock-shaft carried thereby and having secured to it one terminal of acircuit, means for supporting the other terminal of the circuit inposition to be engaged by the terminal carried by the rockshaft, an

operating-handle, and means for securing it to the rock-shaft, wherebysaid handle may be adjusted to various positions around said shaft andextend radially therefrom.

9. In a telegraph-key, thel combination of a rotatable support, arock-shaft carried thereby and having one terminal of a circuitconnected thereto, means for supporting the other terminal of thecircuit in position to be engaged by the terminal carried by therockshaft, an operating-handle and means forsecuring it to therock-shaft whereby it is universally adjustable about the rock-shaft.

10. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a support, a rock-shaftmounted thereon, an arm carried by said shaft and having secu redthereto one terminal of a circuit, a tensionspring connected to saidarm, means for adjusting said spring, means for adjustably support-ingthe other terminal of the circuit in position to be engaged by theterminal on the arm, the tension-adjusting and terminaladjusting meansbeing on the same side of the support, and an operating-handle connectedto the rock-shaft and adapted to extend toward the opposite side of thesupport whereby the adjusting devices may be manipulated by one handWhile signals are being sent by the other hand.

l1. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a hollow case, a horizontalrock-shaft mounted in the upper end of said case, a depending arm onsaid rock-shaft extending into the case and carrying a contact-pointwhich forms one terminal of a circuit, an adjustable terminal carried bythe case in position to be engaged by the contact on lthe arm, a tensiondevice connected to the depending arm, an operating-handle connected tothe rock-shaft.

12. In a telegraph-key, the combination ofv an upright hollow case,ahorizontal rock-shaft mounted in the upper end of said case, a dependingarm on said rock-shaft extending into the case and carrying acontact-point which forms one terminal of a circuit, a tension deviceconnected to the arm on the rockshaft, means for adjusting the tensionof this device, an adjustable terminal carried bythe case in position tobe engaged by the contact on the depending arm, the tension-adjustingmeans and the adjustable terminal being on the same side of the case,and an operatinghandle adapted to be connected to one end of therock-shaft, and adapted to extend radially therefrom away from theadjusting devices.

ceacoi 13. The combination of ahollow case,a horizontal rock-shaftmounted thereon, a depending arm on said shaft and extending within thecase and carrying a contact, a tension device connected to said arm, acontact-point carried by the case and insulated therefrom and in aposition to be engaged by the contact on the arm, a contact-platecarried by the case and insulated therefrom and connected to one Wire ofa circuit the other wire of the circuit being connected to the case, aninsulated wire connecting said contact-plate to the contact-pointcarried by the-case, a cutout lever pivoted on the case and adapted toengage the contact-plate, and an operating'- lever connected to therock-shaft.

14. In a telegraph-key, the' combination of a rotatable support, arock-shaft mounted thereon and extending therethrough and adapted toreceive an operating-handle on Y either end, an arm on said shaftcarrying one terminal of a circuit, means for supporting the otherterminal of the circuit, and an operating-handle adapted to be securedto either end of the rock-shaft by frictional gripping 11168.115.

15. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a rotatable support, a rockshaft carried thereby, an arm carried by said shaft and having securedthereto one terminal of a circuit, said rock-shaft being adapted toreceive an operating-handle on either end, means for supporting theother terminal of the circuit in position to be engaged by the terminalcarried by the arm, and an operating-handle adapted to be secured toeither end ofthe rockshaft, and to be adjusted to various radialpositions around said shaft.

16. In a telegraph-key, the combination of a rotatable hollow case, ahorizontal rockshaft mounted therein, a depending arm secured to saidrock-shaft within the case and carrying one terminal of a circuit, meansfor supporting the other terminal in position to be engaged by theterminal carried by the arm on the rock-shaft, and an operating-handleadj ustably secured to one end of the rockshaft outside of the case.

In testimony whereof we hereunto aliix our signatures, in the presenceof two witnesses, this 27th day of July, 1901.

CHARLES SHIRLEY. JOI-IN F. SKIRROVV. XVitnesses:

F. FREDK. NORTON, M. G. MAoDoUGALL.

IOO

